New Brewer Hopes to Make Beer and Bucks in Boston

Brookline - Jean-Claude Tetreault’s home brewery has been dry for the past six weeks and the reason why is a little ironic.

The 34-year-old Brookline resident has been so busy setting up a commercial brewery that he hasn’t had time to brew. Tetreault recently won approval from Boston’s Zoning Board of Appeals to move ahead with plans to set up his Trillium Brewing Co. on Congress Street. He still has a handful of permits left to obtain, but Tetreault said he’s getting close to reaching his goal and will hopefully start brewing early next year.

His focus will be on using native ingredients to brew and craft his beers, he said.

“We’re using lots of local ingredients,” Tetreault said. “We’re growing our own hops in my aunt and uncle’s farm in Berkley.”

While the crafting of Tetreault’s beers will be traditional, the way he got started brewing and plans to run the brewery is more 21st century.

Tetreault has taken up much of his kitchen with his home brew set and he’s learned more about crafting the beer through the Internet.

“I was reading a bunch of home brewer blogs and they were really helpful to me,” he said.Tetreault has since maintained his own site called Trillium Brewer’s Blog.

The Internet will also be a means of how the project manager for a medical device company plans to keep up with the brewery’s progress while he travels.

Because his day job requires so much travel, Tetreault’s wife Esther has agreed to oversee the initial stages of the brewery. She started her own fitness and personal training business a few years ago.“I don’t think you could build a brewery like this 10 or 11 years ago without the Internet,” he said.